Marvel Origin Stories
by Lonesome Courier
Summary: Saving the world, or destroying it, can often be a thankless task. Follow these heroes/villains journeys as they rise to join the ranks of their fellow heroes/villains. Essentially, my version of Marvel's micro-series but for my OCs! Rated M, just in case!
1. Chapter One, Part One

Marvel Oc Origins

Part One

Chapter One

Psyche

"Can I take your car for you Ms. Parker?" Said a nearby male valet turning to address the woman who had just stepped out of the aquamarine Porsche.

The woman had tanned skin and curled black hair that stopped at the middle of her back. She wore an ocean blue pantsuit with a white blouse underneath. Her high heels matched the color of her suit, along with her purse. Ms. Parker, the head of Parker Inc. turned to the lanky valet.

"Yes, please and thank you." She replied placing her phone back into her purse. The parking garage near the Parker Incorporated building was fairly cool.

Leaving her car in capable hands, Lucille Parker made her way to work. With her travel mug in hand she _clacked_ from the garage to the lobby. The lobby was quite spacious with the front desk being near the elevators. The front desk was entirely made of metal with a computer, stacks of paperwork, several family pictures and a plant near the end. On the left side of the lobby were black and white polka dotted armchairs and loveseats. The carpeting on the floor also had black and white polka dots. In three different places there were metal coffee tables with tops. Vases of flowers were placed on the coffee tables along with business cards. Lucy waved politely at the blonde woman behind the desk as she pressed the up button on the elevator. Sherri waved back at her as she entered the elevator.

Lucy hadn't originally wanted to run her father's company, she had come to enjoy the perks of it. Not only that, but it allowed to her to do what she truly wanted. Which, in her case, was writing. And, with a little convincing from Tony Stark a longtime family friend, Lucy had decided to attend business school and follow her dad's footsteps.

Stepping onto the 100th floor of the building, Lucy could feel the caffeine hitting her already. She took another sip from her mug as she looked around. So far, almost everyone in the office seemed to be doing something, whether it was typing away at their computers, making copies, or brewing coffee in the break room.

As Lucy was making her way to her office she heard footsteps behind her. Stopping in the doorway of her office, she turned around to face her assistant Beatrice.

Beatrice had blonde hair that was usually kept in a large, tight bun on top of her head. She wore thick, black square-shaped glasses and through them were her brown eyes. Today she wore a black short sleeve blouse with a matching pencil skirt and heels.

"Bea, give me the run down." Lucy said as she stepped into her office. She loved this room, as it had originally been her father's. The desk had been her father's along with a photo Lucy kept on her desk. It was one of her and her father on a business trip to Germany.

The office was huge with large windows occupying two out of the three walls. In the center of the room was a large, heavy mahogany desk. On top was a computer monitor, several stacks of papers, a frame photo, and a large calendar. Lucy sat down in her brown, leather armchair. Bea closed the door then approached Lucy.

"Okay so your editor called this morning and left a message. She said your second book was finished and to give it a once over before sending the manuscript to printing. It should be coming this afternoon to the office," Beatrice pushed her glasses further up her nose. "Also Tony Stark called and said he wanted to have lunch at Bravo's. I told him I wasn't sure what days you were open and that I'd get back to him."

Lucy nodded as she took mental notes. She had practically memorized her schedule this week but if she forgot anything that's what Beatrice was for. "I think Tuesday would be a good day to have lunch with Tony. I don't have anything that day, right?"

Beatrice bit her lower lip. "You already scheduled to meet with Professor Xavier's students that day at one."

Lucy placed her purse next to her seat. "Change it to Wednesday then. Is that everything?" she took a long sip of coffee, which she had brewed at home.

By Beatrice's wavering look, it meant she wasn't finished. The fact that she hesitated to speak meant something was wrong. Lucy intended to find out what and deal with who, or what, ever was making Beatrice clam up.

"Bea, what's wrong?" Lucy asked point blank-knowing her assistant couldn't refuse a direct order. The other woman sighed before pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

"Adam Brandt called and asked you if you were free on Friday for dinner. He left a message and cell phone number," Beatrice rushed and even though Lucy was sitting down she felt extremely lightheaded. "Boss, weren't you engaged to this man a few years ago?"

Lucy had indeed been engaged to Adam Brandt. It had been a few years since she had seen him or even spoken to him. Lucy had been the one to call off the engagement after she had learned of his true colors. She could still remember their last conversation as if it had happened yesterday.

* * *

 _That night Adam had taken her out to dinner at Bravo's. It was a week before their engagement. It was June and there was a slight breeze as the sun was setting. They had been sitting outside on the patio surrounded by other customers. Flowers were placed in the center of the table._

" _Lucy, Lucy I don't see what's wrong with that." Adam's chestnut hair was slicked back and he wore a three piece suit. His suit was navy blue and he wore a sky blue tie. Lucy wore an aquamarine spaghetti strap dress with a V-neck line with a floor length skirt. "I was merely saying-"_

" _That's the thing Adam," Lucy shook her head throwing her napkin down on the table. Grabbing her coat and purse she stood up and continued, "You're not 'just saying.' I don't care what everyone else thinks, I find it offensive."_

 _Trying to keeping her anger in check, Lucy zipped up her coat and left the table. Not caring if anyone was staring she turned around. She knew she would feel better once she was away from Adam. She felt her hands ball into fists as people began to stare. She ignored them and kept walking. Gritting her teeth, she continued towards the door._

 _"But what about dinner? And the engagement?" He said after her. Little did she know, this break-up would be in the tabloids for quite some time._

 _Lucy whirled around to face him. Keeping her voice level and her hands at her sides she spoke, "As I said before, I find it offensive. It doesn't matter if they're different from us you can't treat them that way, not while we're together. You're entitled to your opinions just as I'm entitled to mine. And as long as you're going to be racist then I guess we don't have as much in common as I thought. Goodbye, Adam." And with that she left the restaurant._

"Ms. Parker? Lucy, hello?" Beatrice said as Lucy shook herself out of her reverie and bit her upper lip, taking a moment to recover her previous thoughts. Beatrice gave her a concerned look, "So what do you want me to do? Should I call him and tell him no?" Lucy gave a sigh and drank some more of her coffee."

Lucy bit her upper lip harder. On the one hand, she hadn't seen or heard from Adam in five years. Not since she'd dumped him and broken their engagement. On the other, she promised herself she would never see or speak to him again. So why as Adam reaching out to her now, after all these years? He had finally become a senator, the golden child his parents had dreamed he would be. Curiosity grew in Lucy and eventually she decided to take the bait. At least she could figure out what he wanted and if he decided to try anything on her, well she'd drop him like a hot potato. "Might as well, I suppose. Go ahead and call him back." She turned to her computer monitor as Beatrice scurried off to fulfill Lucy's request.

* * *

Most of what Parker Inc. produced as public knowledge, such as medicine and space technology. These products had a wider consumer base than their special technology. These special products were usually aimed toward Mutants in some capacity or another. When Roy Parker had discovered his daughter was a Mutant, he had used his company to help those similar to his daughter.

Currently Lucy was looking at the designs for the power dampener and making suggestions and changes to things that didn't work. These bracelets, while harmless on humans, would help Professor Xavier-head of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, and the foremost authority on everything there was to know about the Mutant gene-, teach his children how to harness their powers. Professor Xavier was a kind hearted, bald man in a wheelchair. His presence always seemed calming and he almost never raised his voice. Lucy smiled at the thought, wishing something like this had been invented when she had first discovered her abilities. She still remembered the day it happened.

 _Lucy was celebrating her 10_ _th_ _birthday. It was at her mother's house, as her father had been away on a business trip. Every room had been decorated with many balloons and "Happy Birthday" streamers. All of her closest friends, including her twin step-sisters, had been there to celebrate._

" _Ok everyone, let's sit down and have some cake." Her mother had suggested, ushering all of the kids at the dinner table. The party was mostly girls, save for Tony and some other boy cousins from her mother's side._

 _Lucy was placed in the center of the table, with everyone else around her. Melissa and Reese, her twin step-sisters, sat on either side of her. Lucy's mother was a thin and pale woman with long, bone-straight jet black hair. She placed the large, chocolate cake in the center of the table._

 _Lucy's mother went to stand next to her step-father, Benjamin Huntington. Lucy's step-father stood at a good 6 feet 2 inches over her mother's 5 feet and 7 inches. Benjamin, or Ben as he liked to be called, was fairly muscular with slightly darker skin than her mother's and had short, thick almost black hair. His green eyes were soft and kind toward all of his children, whether they were biological or not._

" _Alright everyone, let's sing to Lucy." Her mother said holding a camera firmly in her hands._

 _And everyone broke out into the birthday song. Lucy beamed, enjoying the attention she was receiving. Unlike her sister Melissa, Lucy loved being the center of attention. Once the song had ended though, Lucy discovered another side to herself that she hadn't known before._

" _Go ahead and blow out your candles, Lucy." Her mother said and at that moment, it seemed as if time had stopped._

 _As she leaned forward to blow out her candles, she began hearing voices. She wasn't sure if they were made up or not. All she knew was that she could hear them coming from the other kids. And yet, their lips weren't moving._

 **I hope she likes my gift.** _Lucy moved her head around the table to see who had spoken. However, she had heard no one and turned back to her cake. Leaning forward, she heard another voice, clear as day._

 **Boy I hope this cake is good. The last birthday party I went to the cake was terrible** _Lucy's eyes darted around the table of kids, looking at her expectantly as she leaned forward. The candles burned brightly and Lucy's mother held the camera._

 **I wonder what it's like being a rich kid.** _And then another. She quickly moved her head back and forth, feeling very confused._ **What's her problem? Why's she looking at us like that?**

 _Finally, she had had enough. Pushing her chair away from the table, Lucy raced up the stairs and into her room. Closing the door, she tried to ignore the shouts of the other children. Her parents attempted to calm down the other kids as Lucy held her head in her hands._

 _It had taken some convincing to get Lucy to come back downstairs that day. Her mother had gone up and gently persuaded her. Although it wasn't until after the party that she had actually given in and confessed. She had been hearing stories about Mutants as a kid, but never knew she had been one of them_.

As Lucy drove home, the story replayed over and over again in her mind. She was thankful her mother hadn't overreacted or mistreated her in any way. Instead, she had taken Lucy to Professor Xavier's school where Lucy had learned to control her abilities. It was not long after she started at Xavier's that she learned she could also lift things with her mind.

Eventually, Lucy's father discovered her abilities. And while he wasn't upset, he had told her to keep them a secret. He had said not all people were as tolerant and some might try to hurt her. So she hid her powers from everyone except her immediate family. Even Michelle, Lucy's step-mother, knew about her secret and was sworn to secrecy.

Lucy's eyes went to the rearview mirror and to the back of the car where she was keeping the bracelets she would bring to Professor Xavier tomorrow. However, she didn't have long to look as the light soon turned green and she continued her way home.

* * *

The next morning went by quickly, as there wasn't much to do. Lucy had edited her book, met with her board of directors about stock prices, and had a staff meeting all before noon. At 12:30 she decided to head out. Grabbing her purse, Lucy stood outside Beatrice's office, which was to the left of hers.

"Hey Bea, you need anything? I'm heading to Professor Xavier's right now and just figured I'd ask. As always I'm leaving you in charge." Lucy said as her assistant looked up from her computer screen.

The blonde shoved her black glasses back up at her nose, "No I don't think so. Although I was able to get ahold of Mr. Brandt, the one who asked you out for dinner on Friday. I tried to get him to talk details, but he said he'd only talk to you. He said he'd call you this evening, sometime around eight or nine tonight."

Lucy nodded as she ran a hand through her bangs. She wished Beatrice could handle the negotiations but this was Adam's style. He liked doing everything himself. She smoothed out her navy blue pencil skirt and grabbed her purse.

"Okay Bea, thanks for the heads up." Lucy said as she walked away from the woman's office. She could hear the other woman resume her typing, "And if anyone calls just write down their name and number and I'll call them back later."

"You got it, boss." Called Beatrice as Lucy entered the elevator. She was alone, which gave the telepath time to gather herself before she had to face more people.

 _Lucy and Adam had met four years earlier, when both were still in college. She had been in business school and he was following in his father's footsteps to become a politician. They had met at a Christmas party, which had been hosted by Tony Stark._

 _At the time, Lucy hadn't seen her step-sisters that much because their lives were consumed by work and school. Unlike Lucy, whose father had immediately paid for her college education._

 _Lucy mainly spent her time by herself, as Tony was being his usual flirtatious self. She desperately wanted to follow him around for the entire party. But at the same time she wasn't really interested in him in that way._

 _At that party, she had worn a turquoise dress. The skirt of the dress was floor length, with a V-neck and long sleeves. She distinctly remembered wearing her hair in a bun with two thin strands of hair sticking out on each side. She had been making her way to the bar when she had accidentally stumbled into another person._

 _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you." She said covering her hand over her mouth instantly._

 _The young man in question had caramel brunet, slicked back hair. His black tuxedo was impeccable and his shoes shined. Underneath his suit he had a very strong physique._

 _The young man shook his head, "No I'm sorry I bumped into you. Let me buy you a drink. The name's Adam, by the way. Adam Brandt."_

 _"I've heard of you. Your father's William Brandt, the senator right?" She said as they both approached the bar. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Tony making kissy faces at her. She rolled her eyes but ignored him._

 _When Adam laughed, it was rich and deep. His shoulders bounced as he motioned for the bartender. He turned sideways to face her, "Yes, that's my father. Although I was hoping you would tell me your name."_

 _At that, Lucy blushed. He slid her drink across the bar and she accepted it, "Lucille Parker, but most people call me Lucy." She shrugged, taking a small swig of whatever was in the shot glass._

 _"Lucy, huh? I like it." He said with a small smile coming to his lips. And with that, he held out his hand to her, "Would you like to dance?" he had already finished his drink and she decided to take his invitation. He seemed like a nice enough guy, for someone she had just met._

* * *

Lucy hadn't been one for parties, but she had found she had enjoyed it. They had danced the evening away, and he had asked her out on another date. She had accepted that as well, receiving both teasing and encouraging words from Tony and the rest of her family.

She stopped as the light turned red. Drumming her fingers, she looked through the throngs of cars. People were honking their horns and despite hearing the sound of revving engines, none of the cars moved. The light stayed red and Lucy's heart pounded in her chest. Putting her car in park, Lucy knew of only one person who had power enough to stop traffic at a four way intersection. The eyes of the people closest to her were violet and were glued in place as they stopped to listen to a woman speaking. Lucy attempted to peer past the screaming people as the people under the woman's thrall began fighting one another. Her blood ran cold as Lucy recognized who the woman was. Almost on instinct, Lucy disappeared into the flow of the crowd before returning as Psyche.

As Lucy approached she attempted to break up as much of the fighting as she could. As soon as she got them out of the other telepath's sphere of influence, they ran. The woman had mostly black hair with violet highlights on her left side. Her costume was a dark violet and had a V-neckline, showing an ample amount of cleavage with long sleeves and thin gloves covering her hands. The rest of her costume covered her entire body, with violet stilettos _clacking_ on the asphalt.

Lucy's costume was, by comparison, much lighter in color. She wore a sapphire dress with a sweat heart neckline and a skirt that was longer on the right. Her ankle high heels matched her dress. Underneath her skirt were dark silver leggings with a matching belt around her waist. Starting from under her arms and ending at her palms in a point were aquamarine gloves. Lastly, there was a short cape the same color as her gloves and her hair was in a ponytail trailing down her back.

Just as Lucy neared the other woman she turned around. A malevolent smile lit up the other woman's face. Lucy tried to reach out to the other civilians fighting around them. Psywitch was a powerful telepath and telekinetic but Lucy was just as powerful. Both Psywitch and Psyche had attended Xavier's Institute together as 10-year-olds and had grown up best friends. Until a combination of life circumstances and Magneto, who had persuaded her to join his Brotherhood of Mutants, convinced Psywitch Mutants were the dominant race and humans needed to be put in their place.

There was a large part of Lucy that was anxious. The last time she had fought Psywitch people had died.

"Alright Psywitch that's enough. Release these people and no one has to get hurt." Lucy said from behind, crossing her arms over her chest. Lucy's costume was blue as opposed to Psywitch's black. Her costume began just under her shoulder like a dress and the skirt ended at her mid-thigh. Her sleeves were long and ended at a point in the center of her hands. She wore a short cape with a choker around her neck. The cape, dress, and short heels were all blue while her leggings were gray. Her hair was in a ponytail.

Psywitch turned around to face Lucy and laughed, "Psyche? How long has it been honey, three years?" Psywitch asked turning to face Lucy with a hand on her hip. Lucy's hands balled into fists as some of the civilians nearest to them began to break away.

"Not long enough." She replied gathering as much mental energy as she could, she extended her hand and struck Psywitch. The attack pushed Psywitch back through the throngs of cars and into a nearby building. Everyone who had been fighting stopped and glanced at Psywitch. Without turning away from her target, Lucy spoke.

"Get out of here as fast as you can and call the police. Those who are injured, call an ambulance." Lucy grunted as Psywitch picked herself up and hit Lucy with her own mental energy.

Lucy flew back as Psywitch floated over toward her. Brushing the rubble off of her shoulders she fought against Psywitch's next attack.

"Clearly it's been too long. By the way, do those dead children still keep you up at night?" Psywitch brought her hand up and sent more mental energy toward Lucy. Psywitch always knew

Lucy felt a ringing in her ears and a pounding in her skull. Gritting her teeth, she gripped the walls of the building. Forcing herself up, she connected with Psywitch's energy and redirected it back at the villainess. Psywitch always knew just how and where to hit.

"It doesn't surprise me you're still defending these fragile humans. You always were a softie." Psywitch said as Lucy flung her farther down the road. She gasped softly to herself as an image of a dead child, its broken neck evident, appeared in her mind. She knew Psywitch was trying to upset and defeat Lucy. Lucy pushed aside her personal feelings as her mental energy rammed into Psywitch's. Both fought for supremacy as Psywitch closed the distance between them.

"Don't you get it? We're superior and they know it." Psywitch continued as another dead child from that night flashed through Lucy's mind. Both Psywitch and Lucy grit their teeth as they stood almost touching one another. "We're stronger and better in every way."

Reaching out to Psywitch with her mind, Lucy connected to it. "No Gwen, we're not stronger or better than them in any way. And that's what you don't understand. Co-existing, that's strength." And without hesitating or stopping, she shot as much psychic energy as she could in the other woman's direction. Gritting her teeth, Lucy could tell Psywitch's resolve was waning more and more. Giving it her last hurrah, she slammed as much energy as she could into the finale. Once Psywitch was stumbling backward and holding her head, Lucy figured she had done enough.

Once Psywitch was on the ground Lucy heard several things at once. The first were sirens nearing her location. Whether they were police or ambulance or both she wasn't entirely certain. The second thing she noticed was a _whirring_ sound, as if something was flying overhead. Lucy looked up, holding up a hand to shield her eyes as she saw the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier directly over top of their location. The last thing Lucy noticed was that people were starting to come back into the streets again. Unfortunately, she didn't see much else before the world around her went dark and she fell to the ground.

* * *

Author's Note: So it's taken me some time, but after one review I decided to completely rewrite my OC Origin stories (the ones I had already written anyway). I would like to apologize in advance if any of the Marvel Cannon Characters seem out of character at all. I would also like to thank The Solar Surfer for editing this chapter, as well as the others. I truly appreciate her dedication and patience!

I don't own anything related to Marvel, Beyoncé, or Lady Gaga but I do own my OCs.


	2. Chapter One, Part Two

Part Two

Chapter One

Psyche

A voice pulled Lucy out of her unconsciousness. It was familiar, both masculine and calming. Her eyes slowly fluttered open as she tried to sit up.

Looking around her, she noticed the area had been cordoned off by yellow police tape. Agents had already collected Psywitch because she wasn't where she had landed. Police were questioning people, allowing some to get back in their cars. Some were even directing traffic as everything went back to the way it was before Psywitch appeared.

There was one agent, however, nearby. He had tanned skin and short, black hair. Lucy rubbed her temple with her fingers as he pulled herself up.

"Glad to see you alive and well, Psyche. I wasn't sure when you would wake up." He said with a smile as Lucy stood up. She felt her head spinning slightly but waved away his concerned gesture.

"Yeah, I wasn't either. Thanks, Agent Woo. By the way, what time is it?" Lucy said brushing dust off herself as she watched the streets fill with cars again.

Agent Woo checked his wrist watch, "It's about 1:30 but Psyche, there's something I need to tell you. Director Fury says he's putting together a team of heroes. It would be similar to the special ops team in some ways but different in others."

"And what does that have to do with the price of bananas in Latveria?" Lucy said crossing her arms over her chest. She had worked with S.H.I.E.L.D before, not so long ago. She had even been part of their special operations team alongside the Black Widow, Quake, and Hawkeye. So why would Nick Fury want to work with heroes? What's this offer really about?

Agent Woo ran a hand through his hair, appearing flustered, "What I'm trying to say is Director Fury needs heroes for this team to work. People like you, who know how S.H.I.E.L.D operates and can fight the battles no one else is willing to."

Lucy snorted as she made her way toward her car. Opening the door, she hoped to get to Professor Xavier's soon. She kept her body facing towards Agent Woo, despite wanting to walk away from this conversation right now.

Her brow rose and she kept her arms folded, "And who is going to be on this team?" she wasn't really interested in being on the team, truth be told. However, if Fury had actually managed to assemble a team, then she might be more interested. And more importantly, she wanted details.

Agent Woo stammered for a few seconds and ran a hand through his hair. Eventually, he gave a sigh and scratched the back of his neck.

"To be honest, Fury doesn't have a team, yet." Woo responded and Lucy nodded. As she had assumed, Fury didn't really have anyone. He was having trouble recruiting heroes and it was no secret why. While most heroes trusted S.H.I.E.L.D, they also wouldn't voluntarily become Fury's lapdogs. And if she was being perfectly honest, Lucy had no problem with S.H.I.E.L.D either. However she wasn't about to go out of her way to rejoin. She had given up that life and vowed never to go back.

"Well, tell Fury I said thanks but no thanks." She said grabbing her purse and turning toward the nearest building. She weaved through the flow of people and changed back into her street clothes.

* * *

It had taken her a half hour, but Lucy had finally made it to Xavier Institute. She parked in the garage and grabbed her large, gray bin from the backseat of her car. Once she entered the entrance courtyard she was greeted by Jean Grey, Ororo Munroe, and Scott Summers.

"Really guys I'm doing much better now, I promise." Lucy reassured them as she entered the X-Mansion. It made her feel better to be back. She considered this place her home away from home, a refuge.

"We heard about what happened between you and Psywitch. We were actually surprised you made it here at all." Ororo said her white hair whooshing as several young boys ran through the hall.

Ororo held the door open for Lucy as she entered the auditorium. The room was very large, with at least a thousand seats. The stage was also generously sized, with large red curtains and everything. Lucy's heels _clicked_ on the auditorium floor as the three X-Men followed her.

"Yeah well, I wasn't going to let her stop me from coming here. I'm just sorry I was so late." Lucy said grunting with effort as she placed the bin on the edge of the stage.

"If you want you can rest a little before your presentation. I could feel you were pretty drained as you came in." Said Jean standing beside Scott as Lucy climbed the stage steps.

Lucy shook her head insistently, "No really, I think I'll be okay. After the initial mental blast I was pretty exhausted but I'm feeling a little better now. I'll just have to go to bed early tonight."

The three mutants shared a look. They didn't say anything, but Lucy could tell they were still concerned about her. However, they didn't say anything as they opened the auditorium doors and gathered all of the students and staff. Lucy could tell the other members of the school, such as the Professor himself, were also worried about her but she tried not to let it show around the kids.

* * *

The presentation had taken longer than Lucy had originally anticipated. She had planned to only be talking for a half hour, but it had actually taken twice as long. The presentation itself had been a demonstration of the bracelets.

Mostly, the bracelets would be used for students whose powers were too overwhelming or who didn't understand how to use their abilities. And of course they would be used for training purposes only. Lucy's demonstration was supposed to include both her telepathy and telekinesis, but she had only enough power to demonstrate a small portion of her telekinesis.

As Lucy was exiting the X-Mansion her phone went off. The current ringtone was Beyonce's _Halo_ at least for Beatrice and other family members. Pulling over to the side of the road she picked up her Samsung Galaxy.

"Hello?" Lucy said holding the phone up to her ear as she watched cars pass by. It was now around 3 pm and she still had to get back to the office. Although with the headache she had, Lucy was tempted to just floor it home.

"Boss, where have you been? Your office phone's been ringing off the hook. I finally had to answer it and take a message." Beatrice's concerned voice came through the line. While Lucy's assistant knew she was an author, she certainly didn't know about Lucy's "side" activities.

"Yeah, sorry, I got stuck in traffic. I was on my way to Professor Xavier's and the showdown between Psyche and Psywitch slowed me down." Lucy responded as she steered herself back onto the road. She stopped at the nearest light, which had just turned red.

"Are you alright? I heard there were no major injuries but if you need to get checked out I can hold down the fort here." Beatrice said insistently and Lucy smiled to herself.

She reminded herself this was why she had hired Beatrice, because the woman could handle just about anything. Of course Beatrice also didn't know that she and Psyche were one in the same.

She shook her head, cradling the phone with her chin next to her ear. Both hands were on the steering wheel. Her eyes focused on the cars, trucks, and motorcycles ahead of her. While it wasn't rush hour yet, it would be soon.

"No, that's fine Bea. I do have a massive migraine though, so I think I'll just head home." Lucy said which was the truth. Her head felt like it was going to split open any minute. Unfortunately, this was one of the side effects of a mental blast. Normally, she would've just blacked out and woken up a few hours later, but Lucy didn't have that luxury.

"Yeah, I understand." Was Beatrice's reply.

"Who called me?" Lucy asked trying to change the subject. She continued moving her way through traffic and toward her apartment. She could feel the throbbing in her head increase.

There was a pregnant pause on the line. Lucy waited until she heard a sigh from Beatrice. Some papers rustled and then her assistant spoke.

"Several people called you. The first was Mr. Brandt, which I told him to call you this evening as he had originally planned. The second was Tony Stark, who wanted to ensure you were still attending lunch tomorrow with him. I told him if he was really concerned, to call you." Beatrice paused, as more papers shuffled in the background, "The last one was from your sisters Melissa and Lacey. They said they left a message on your machine at home but couldn't reach you so they called the office."

Lucy perked up at hearing that her step-sisters had called, "Did they give any details as to what they wanted?"

"No, but like I said they left a message on your home phone." Beatrice said and Lucy heard the other woman's fingers move across a keyboard.

"Okay, thanks Bea. I'll try to deal with Tony and Brandt. You can leave early today if you want." Lucy said feeling her migraine grow in size. Gritting her teeth, she sped up as much as she could.

"Are you sure, Ms. Parker? I know on Thursday you have to submit the final draft of your book. And there's that dinner with Mr. Brandt." Beatrice always insisted on staying after. Today, however, Lucy figured if she wasn't there Beatrice didn't have to be there either.

"You can stay until five, if you want. I just figured this week was going to be pretty light as far as actual work goes. Plus I thought you and Grant were going out tonight." Lucy waited for a few seconds, with a smile slowly creeping on her face. She could see Beatrice thinking about it in her head.

There was a long, silent pause. Lucy could already see her apartment but still remained on the line. Just as she was about to speak, Lucy heard Beatrice's voice on the other end of line.

"Alright boss, if you're sure. But tomorrow I'll be coming in early. The board of directors said they want to know how the demonstration today went. One of them actually called today but I told them you were indisposed." And for that, Lucy was thankful.

"Okay Bea, thank you and have fun tonight." She responded and hung up before the other woman could protest.

* * *

By the time Lucy reached the parking lot of her apartment building, her head was ready to explode. Usually whenever she performed a mental blast she was unconscious for several hours and had a heavy duty migraine for an hour afterwards. She had used mental blasts before, which is why she rarely used them. This headache was unlike anything she'd ever experienced.

Rubbing her temples, she grabbed her purse and phone. Her heels quickly clicked on the garage floor. Leaving the valet to do his job, she entered the apartment lobby through the opened door.

The room was quite large and grandiose. It was made of white marble and had a high ceiling. There were two large, windows behind Lucy that had navy blue curtains. Leather chairs and couches of the same color were placed in the lower left and upper right hand corners of the room. A large, metal front desk was positioned on the left side of the room near the furniture.

A middle aged man with slicked back jet black hair and piercing emerald eyes stood behind the front desk in the lobby. His shirt was tucked into black slacks and his shoes matched his slacks. The man smiled at her as she passed.

"Hey Lucy, you're home early. Have a bad day?" The man asked as Lucy made her way past the desk. Pressing the elevator button she turned to him with a kind smile.

"Something like that, yeah. Thanks Charlie." She said stepping into the elevator before he could continue questioning her. She breathed a sigh of relief, as no one else was in the elevator at this time. But why should they? Everyone else was still at work.

Lucy quickly made her way to the last room on the right, the penthouse suite. The room had an open floor plan, which meant there were no doors or doorways in most of the rooms. The first room she entered was the kitchen, which in it had a closet and coat rack.

Lucy ate a small snack and then downed two pills of Advil. Walking past her kitchen and into the spacious living room she tossed her purse onto the coffee table. Taking her high heels off, she plopped down on the couch and closed her eyes. Sleep took her moments after her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Lucy awoke to the sound of Lady Gaga's _Telephone_ coming from somewhere nearby. Forcing her eyes open, she sat up and yawned. Grabbing her phone from her purse, she swiped her thumb across the screen.

"Lucy Parker speaking. Who is this?" She said somewhat groggily running a hand through her messy curls.

"Hey Luce, just wanted to see how you were doing for dinner on Friday. I heard about what happened earlier this afternoon. Are you okay?" Came a familiar, baritone masculine voice. On top of that, there was only one person in the world who had ever called her that. But why was he acting so polite? We hadn't spoken since I ended our relationship five years ago. So what did he want, other than to have dinner?

"Hey Adam. Yeah I'm fine I just have a headache. Nothing a little Advil can't cure." She said, and immediately decided to change the subject. Old feelings rose to the surface and she bit her upper lip. "So my assistant told me you wanted to talk details about dinner for Friday."

Adam's rich and warm laugh hit Lucy's ears. It reminded her of how much she had missed him. However, she shoved those feelings aside.

"You always knew how to dodge a question, Luce. But yes, I did want to talk dinner with you. How does eight o' clock sound at Bravo's sound? I remember it used to be your favorite." Adam said and Lucy sat up on her couch. Bravo's was Lucy's favorite in that it was the last restaurant her father had taken her to before he died.

"Sounds good. By the way, what's this dinner about? We haven't spoken since I ended our engagement." Lucy yawned and instantly covered her mouth. Sitting up on the couch, she checked the time.

Another lighthearted chuckle followed, "You must be feeling crappy, then." Lucy grit her teeth but said nothing, "And don't worry about dinner, babe, I'll tell you everything when you get there. Should I pick you up?" Babe? What the actual hell? It's like we never stopped dating.

The offer surely was tempting. Lucy could already see his red Maserati pull up now. However, she knew what his picking her up would imply. Shaking her head, she put her work shoes in the closet in the kitchen with the rest of her footwear.

"No, that's all right. I can drive myself. Good night, Adam." Lucy said and pulled her phone away from her ear. Just as she was about to hang up, she noticed Adam had already done so. Glancing at the time she noticed it was already 6:15 and decided to get something to eat.

Lucy's kitchen had black and white tiles covered the floor with dark wood cabinets. Metal appliances such as a refrigerator, microwave, and stove/oven were also interspersed with the cabinetry. The countertops were made of quartz, along with the island in the center of the room.

Lucy wasn't feeling terribly inspired tonight, plus her headache was still very active. While it had lessened in intensity thanks to the Advil she had taken earlier, Lucy decided to have macaroni and cheese.

Taking her bowl into the living room, she plopped down on the couch. Two sets of large windows occupied the wall directly in front of her. Dark purple curtains hung on the edges of each window. On the adjacent wall to the windows were two sliding glass doors, which lead to a balcony.

The carpeting of the living room was a light jade. Lucy's couch was a lighter shade of purple with a mix of light green and purple pillows. Her coffee table was mahogany with a light green cover over top of it. In the right hand corner of the room next to the sliding glass doors was a mahogany entertainment center, with many movies stacked on the shelves. On top of the entertainment center was a 32-inch television.

Lucy eased back onto her couch as she grabbed the remote off the coffee table. Turning it on, she noticed the news station Excelsior was playing. Figures, just her luck. She listened to the male reporter as he switched from the weather to today's incident between herself and Psywitch.

The news reporter had chocolate colored short, thick hair. His lightly tanned skin shone brightly under the production lights. His blue suit matched his eyes. In the background, there was an image of Lucy as Psyche facing off against Psywitch. "And now onto other news. According to a few eye witnesses, a few hours ago, Psywitch faced off again Psyche. What Psywitch wanted is unknown, as the telepath villainess was quickly taken into S.H.I.E.L.D custody."

The man continued to drone on as Lucy inhaled her mac and cheese. Downing it with some water, she still remembered the last showdown between Psywitch and herself.

* * *

 _This was supposed to have been a simple S.H.I.E.L.D operation. Psywitch had been spotted just outside New York City. She had kidnapped at least a dozen children with high profile parents and had been keeping them in a warehouse somewhere in Manhattan. S.H.I.E.L.D had finally been able to locate her and had sent Lucy in to help._

 _The X-Men hadn't gotten involved because they were busy fighting the Brotherhood of Mutants. Black Widow, Hawkeye, Quake, and anyone else on S.H.I.E.L.D's special operations team had all been on other assignments. Which meant that taking down the villain mutant telepath was Lucy's job._

 _Lucy had arrived at the warehouse to find a dozen half-starved, frightened children. All of them appeared to be between the ages of two and seven. How Psywitch had acquired them, she still wasn't certain. However, just as Lucy neared the kids something knocked her out of the way. One of the crates near the warehouse, possibly._

 _Lucy picked herself up off the ground as Psywitch appeared. She could tell the other woman was pleased that Lucy had come._

 _"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, I didn't know you would be here. If I had known I would've thrown a party." Psywitch said._

 _"This isn't a game. What do you even want with these kids, Psywitch?" Lucy had tried for the direct approach. That had been her mistake, as she would soon learn._

 _Psywitch's shoulders bounced and she threw back her head. Whatever sound was coming out of her mouth wasn't a laugh. It was more like a cackle._

 _"My dear Psyche, don't you see the news? More and more people are discovering their kids are Mutants, like us. And when they do find out, they drop them to the curve like a hot potato. I hate to tell you, but not everyone's parents are as understanding as yours." Psywitch said, knowing her barbs would harm just as she intended._

 _Lucy grit her teeth and her hands balled into fists, "And what does this have to do with these kids?" both were circling now, their hands raised._

 _"I was just getting to that, if you would wait." Psywitch said with her eyes going to the children. They each shuddered and cringed in fear. She turned back to Lucy, her eyes wide, "As you well know, the X-gene only appears in small portions. These children of the wealthy and elite have all been tested for the X-gene. And as both of us know, a Mutant's powers only appear during stressful situations. However, as of late more and more people are discovering their abilities much earlier in life. The results haven't gotten back yet but I think I have my own way of testing for it."_

 _Lucy grit her teeth as a malicious smile spread across the other woman's face. Lucy lunged but not before the other woman. Soon, Psywitch turned to the children and raised her hands above her head. Her eyes and their eyes were violet and they obeyed her commands._

 _Opening her mind, she directed as much force as she could at the other woman. She attempted to get through to the children, but it was too late. They had already succumbed to her will and there wasn't much Lucy could do about it._

 _Lucy followed Psywitch onto the roof of the warehouse, which was fairly high. Hoping to stop the other telepath, Lucy sent a mental blast her direction. Psywitch merely laughed, or cackled, as she turned to Lucy._

 _"My dear Lucy, did you really think that could stop me?" She turned to the other telepath with a condescending smile on her face, "I may not be as powerful as Jean Grey, but I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve."_

 _Lucy tried reasoning one last time. She didn't know if it would work, but she had to try, "If you do this, there's no going back. Let these kids go and I can help you." Maybe it was because they used to be friends but Lucy truly hoped this would work._

 _Psywitch said closing the distance between herself and Lucy. The kids seemed all but forgotten, their eyes still aglow. "You know, there might've been a time when that was true. When you really could help me. But now," the other woman shook her head as she turned back to the kids. Psywitch flicked her hand, and several children stepped toward the edge, "I don't think there's a chance you'll even be able to stop this."_

 _And with that, the children all walked over the edge. Lucy grit her teeth and tried to ignore Psywitch's cackling. Using her telekinesis, Lucy flew down the side of the warehouse and tried to catch as many as she could. Some of the kids managed to keep themselves aloft. Others Lucy was able to save. However, there were a few who slipped through her fingers and eventually there was a loud crack against the pavement anyway._

 _Before Lucy could check on the survivors, several more children fell. Again, some of them were able to fall in relative safety while others weren't. Lucy had once again tried to save them, but to no avail. She decided the only way to end this was to send a strong enough mental blast to Psywitch that she couldn't control the children anymore._

 _The next batch of kids fell and Lucy prepared herself to catch them. Once again she was able to catch some of them but not all. Lucy promised herself she would mourn later as she got a feel for Psywitch's energy once more._

 _Lucy let it build and build until she felt there was enough. Finally, she released it upon Psywitch, who screamed. She felt the other telepath attempt to fight back, but to no avail. Lucy continued her mental assault, until she couldn't hear the other telepath screaming anymore._

 _Raising herself up to view the roof, she noticed Psywitch was on lying unconscious on the rooftop. Immediately, Lucy heard the frightened murmurs of the children around her. She tried not to look down on the ground at the other children whose limbs were either lying in odd positions on the ground or had stopped breathing altogether._

It had taken a half hour for S.H.I.E.L.D to come and collect Psywitch that day. Some of the children who had jumped had been rescued, but most had not. Once the parents had all been notified and the surviving kids had their memories erased of the events, Lucy had resigned. More so because she needed to deal with the trauma that had happened that night.

Before resigning she had visited a S.H.I.E.L.D therapist because she needed to talk to someone about what she had seen. Lucy had frequent flashbacks to the event, sometimes triggered by watching a child fall on the playground and scraping his knee. There where nights where she couldn't sleep for fear of nightmares that haunted her. The absolute worst thing, however, was seeing an unrelated child death on the news; it could've been from a car crash or drowning, it didn't matter. Once Lucy saw it, she'd lie in bed for days, cycling between wracking sobs and staring silently off into space. It had taken some time for her to feel some semblance of normalcy again.

Lucy shook her head out of her reverie and noticed the reporter from Excelsior had been replaced with NCIS. Turning off her TV, Lucy finished the rest of her mac and cheese. With her head still pounding, she took two more Advil before going to her kitchen and playing through the messages on her home phone. The first two were from Tony and Adam, which she deleted. The third, she merely pressed played and listened.

"Hey Lucy, it's Mimi. Reese just moved back to Manhattan for a role and we wanted to know if you wanted to get together this weekend. We're both meeting at Bravo's on Saturday at noon for lunch. We really, really hope you'll come join us this weekend. Love you Lucy, and we hope to see you there."

Lucy picked her phone off the coffee table and began to text. There was only one person Lucy called had called Mimi as a kid. That person was Lucy's step-sister Melissa, who was also a Mutant. Melissa was blind and yet she had the ability to see the future. And no, the irony wasn't lost on Lucy. Meanwhile, Melissa's twin Reese was a shape shifter. Which more or less aided her in Reese's acting career.

Lucy's mind went over the message as she glanced at the clock. It was currently 7:30 and as of recently, it was the earliest she had been home. Usually, she stayed late at work to ensure everything would be orderly for the next day. Beatrice would often stay with her, so Lucy decided to enjoy her free time.

Ever since the incident with Psywitch a few years ago, Lucy hadn't seen her step-sisters much. Maybe a couple times a year, but that was it. She quickly loaded up the dishwasher and headed through her room to the balcony.

A cool, late evening August breeze rustled Lucy's blazer. She ignored it and leaned over the edge of the railing on the balcony. A short distance away from her was a set of stairs, which lead to the rooftop. On the roof there was a nice garden and swing set and that was about it.

Why would they call me now? Lucy asked herself as she glanced down at the moving cars, taxis, and trucks. Even though it was the tail end of rush hour, the roads were still fairly busy. Horns were honking and people were still walking the streets. Some were nicely dressed and often times, they were in groups.

Eventually, Lucy decided that the reason didn't matter. She headed back into her penthouse, locking all of the doors and closing the curtains as she did so. She knew her step-sisters would be furious if they discovered she was seeing Adam again. Then again, it's not like they were dating. It was just a dinner, which could mean a lot of things.

Once Lucy made it back to her bedroom, she locked the sliding glass doors. She covered the door with the curtains as she unbuttoned her blazer. Tossing it into the hamper near the door she did the same with her shirt, skirt, and panties.

Lucy's room entire room was a light shade of violet. Her bed had a canopy and sat on the right side of the room next to the walk in closet. On the other side of Lucy's bed was a large mahogany nightstand.

On Lucy's nightstand were a lamp, a tablet, her phone, her Samsung MP3 player, and three framed pictures. The first was of both her parents and Lucy, shortly before their divorce. It had been taken when Lucy was only two years old. The second photo was of Lucy, her step-sisters, Tony, and two other friends she had grown up with. This one had been shortly after Lucy's 10th birthday. The third was of her father, Howard Stark, and Captain America.

Hanging on the left side of Lucy's room on the wall were some newspaper clippings. Most of them were reviews of a book published by Sam Johnson. Leaning against the wall was a dresser, where Lucy placed her bra. Adjoining the dresser was a door, which lead to the master bathroom. The main bathroom was attached to the living room.

Making her way to the dresser, Lucy decided on a sleeveless white shirt and white panties. Trudging to bed, she slid under the covers and closed her eyes. As she lost consciousness, she found comfort in the honking horns and still busy streets below.

* * *

The next morning Lucy awoke at 7:45 to _Circle of Life_ coming from her phone. Upon realizing what time it was, she quickly dressed in a blue button-up quarter-length shirt, a knee length skirt, four-inch strappy heels, along with a matching purse. For her hair she decided to leave her bangs swooping to the right and pin a small portion of it together while leaving the rest to fall flat against her chest.

Before leaving her apartment, Lucy snarfed down a bagel with cream cheese. She hoped Wednesday would prove to be better than yesterday. If she was late to work then it would be a coin toss.

Fortunately, Lucy was able to make it to work semi on-time. While she hadn't sped through any lights, she had driven faster than usual. When she walked through the door at 8:05, Beatrice had asked her how she was feeling. And while her headache was still present, it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been yesterday afternoon.

Lucy closed the door, taking several phone calls from board members. She was even called by Professor Xavier himself. He told her the bracelets were working like they were supposed to, which gave Lucy hope. However, he also asked her about the fight between herself and Psywitch the previous day. She gave him a brief run down and limited the details. While she loved the professor like a father, she also didn't want him worrying about her. From the time she was very young, Lucy had learned to take care of herself. Her parents had been present in her childhood, but they always seemed to be busy with work. And after the incident with the kids her sense of independence had increased.

"Hey, Bea I'm heading to lunch with Tony. Do you need anything else before I go?" Lucy said leaning her head against the wall. She heard the sounds of her employees in the background.

Beatrice shook her head, "I don't think so. But hey, Ms. Parker please be careful today. I would hate for you to end up in a situation like you did yesterday." Lucy's headache had already dissipated but she was still physically tired.

Lucy nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. She had told Bea to call her by her first name. Nonetheless, the other woman had insisted it wasn't appropriate.

"How was the evening with Grant, by the way? I know I didn't ask this morning but I was kind of stuck in a rut." Lucy continued and felt triumphant when the other woman's face grew red.

Pushing up her glasses Beatrice's voice was barely audible, "He proposed." She said, beaming and Lucy came into the room to hug her. Bea appeared not sure what to do about this, until she eventually gave up and returned the hug.

"Bea, that's great news. Let me know if and when you need some time off and it's yours." Lucy said pushing her shirt back down as she turned to leave. Waving as she did so she called out, "And don't forget to tell me when the date is. I don't want to miss a thing."

* * *

Lucy was grateful her drive to lunch was uneventful. Once her car was in the parking lot she entered the Italian restaurant. The interior was just as Lucy remembered it. The walls, ceiling, floor and various columns around the room were white marble. Landscape paintings of Italy's countryside hung from the wall and round lights were strung from the ceiling.

The place was fairly deserted considering it was 11:48. Numerous tables with white tablecloths and dark wooden chairs sat largely unused. A large, marble pilaster blocked her view of the right side of the restaurant. Before Lucy could continue to appreciate the view, a college looking boy wearing a crisp, white shirt with nice black slacks and shoes approached her.

"Excuse me, ma'am, how may I help you?" He appeared to be the very image of wanting to help. He had a pen and paper out of his pocket in seconds.

Lucy nodded as she slung her purse over her shoulder. "Yes, I'm supposed to have lunch here with a Tony Stark. The reservation should be under Stark." She waited as the man rifled through his notes then finally looked up at her.

"Of course right this way, Ms. Parker." The waiter guided her around the pillar and stopped. The table was fairly large with only two cushioned chairs.

Directly behind the pillar, already with a drink in hand, was a man. He wore a red long sleeve shirt underneath a tan blazer and a knowing grin on his face. He raised his glass at Lucy.

"Hey, Lucille long time no see." He said, his grin growing, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

The waiter left and Lucy sat down across from him. Placing her purse on the back of her seat the same waiter came back. He gave them bread and some things to dip it in. Lucy ordered a water and the waiter left once more.

"Do people still call you Lucille, or is it Lucy?" Tony asked as he swished his wine around. Leaning back in his chair, he looked quite attractive. Whenever he showed off it made Lucy want to roll her eyes. The two had often spoken over the phone or via text but hadn't seen each other in person since shortly before her breakup with Adam. Seeing Tony again felt like coming home.

Lucy shook her head as the waiter brought her water and left again. She grabbed the straw he had given and placed it in her water.

"Most people call me Lucy, yes. So how have you been? How has Stark Industries been?" Lucy asked deciding to start off light. She could tell Tony wanted to ask something else, but didn't for some reason. Either he was waiting for the correct time, or he wouldn't ask at all.

Tony shrugged as he took another sip of his wine, "Business has declined, but I guess once you leave the weapon-making game that tends to happen." He placed his glass on the table and his right hand covered his chest, "As for myself, I've been worse. I can't say I haven't been enjoying the new image of Stark Industries. And my personal life has been very…fruitful. I think last weekend I had two German models, a few Russians, and a couple Italians at my house all just last weekend. But enough about my life, how are things with you? I heard about that fight between you and Psywitch."

Of course, Tony would be proud of his "accomplishments". It can only sound that way coming from a Stark. Lucy thought as she took a sip of water. Normally, she would've ordered wine, but she would be driving back to work after this. She couldn't afford to be drunk at work.

Shrugging her shoulders, Lucy didn't feel comfortable talking about Psywitch. She hadn't confided in anyone besides that S.H.I.E.L.D therapist. Not even her step-sisters knew about her last mission for S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Other than yesterday I'm fine." Lucy lied even though it was the truth. Her headache had finally gone away and business was better than usual.

Tony nodded taking in this information. If he didn't believe her answer, he certain as hell didn't show it. The two had grown up together-many even though they would marry at some point-and therefore knew each other very well. If Lucy wanted to share something, she would.

"So how are Pepper and Rhodey?" Lucy said continuing with the small talk. She wasn't entirely sure why Tony had arranged for a lunch anyway. However, she did enjoy seeing him again.

Tony shrugged as the waiter made his way around the corner, "They're both doing pretty well, actually. Rhodey just shipped back out yesterday. Although I know Pepper's worried about you because of yesterday."

Lucy nodded and both turned to face the waiter. He had a pen and pencil in hand as he stood near their table.

"Have you both decided what you would like?" He asked and Tony gestured with his hand to Lucy.

"I would like the Pasta Bravo." Lucy replied not even needing to look at the menu. The waiter wrote that down and Tony voiced his order.

"I'll take the Risotto." The waiter nodded and both handed them their menus.

"Very good, I'll take these." The waiter said and gestured at his name tag before leaving, "By the way my name is Ryan if you two need anything."

"Thank you." Lucy and Tony said as the waiter left. Both turned back to facing one another and resumed their conversation.

As they were waiting for lunch, the pair caught up with each other, exchanging stories of various shenanigans. They talked about everything from business, to their "side activities", and even to personal lives. Eventually, Tony asked Lucy about her love life.

"I haven't seen anyone since Adam, to be honest." Lucy admitted as Ryan delivered their meals and refilled their drinks. He swiftly left again, leaving the telepath to the mercies of Tony Stark.

Tony's left brow rose at this and he put down his fork to clearly look at her. "Really?" Was the only thing he said. Lucy sighed as he grabbed his knife and fork and dug in.

"Really. Anyway did you see the latest article published by Excelsior?" Lucy asked as she dug into her pasta and began eating.

"Yeah, I saw that. I'm really sorry, Luce. I wish people didn't care so damn much about what people like us do and how we live our lives." Tony said and Lucy nodded in agreement. She thought about telling him about the dinner on Friday with Adam but thought better of it.

The rest of lunch passed by fairly quickly. Once Lucy had grabbed her purse, she took her cell phone out to check the time. It was already 12:33 and she had to get back to work soon. Hugging Tony, she thanked him for lunch.

"If you ever need anything, call me or Pepper. I know she'd love to hear from you again." Tony said as his hands found their way to her bra.

Pulling away Lucy nodded, "I will. And I'll try to call Pepper either today or tomorrow. I didn't realize she was quite that worried about me."

And with that, Lucy left Bravo's and headed to her car. As she drove away, she thought about what her life would've been like had she stayed with Adam.

* * *

The rest of the work week passed by rather slow and dull. Lucy made the correct edits to her book and sent it back to her editor. She also called Pepper the day after her lunch with Tony, mostly to ensure the other woman didn't fret too much about her. When Friday finally rolled around, Lucy almost wanted to cancel. However, Beatrice kept her too busy with paperwork to really think about it. The first time Lucy's mind did wrap around the idea was when she had finally gotten home at around 6:50. Turning on the news, she left the door to her bedroom open as she rifled through her closet.

"According to eyewitness reports, Hydra has just been spotted near the pier in Manhattan. No telling how many soldiers there are at the moment but we do know Baron Strucker, their current leader, is with them. Our sources tell us S.H.I.E.L.D is on the scene."

Lucy quickly threw something on. Grabbing her purse and phone, she texted Adam to let him know she'd be a bit late. Getting into her Porsche, she raced toward where the report had said Hydra had showed up and turned on her radio.


	3. Chapter One, Part Three

Part Three

Chapter One

Psyche

Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker watched the battle from the dock. His crimson Satan Claw flexing in anticipation. His soldiers were currently in combat with the S.H.I.E.L.D Mandroids. The Helicarrier was nowhere to be seen. As expected the Mandroids plowed down the regular agents with ease. But cut off one head, two more take its place.

"Baron Strucker, I would say I'm surprised to see you but I'm really not." The said Nazi exited from his ship and looked at Lucy who was standing on top of a large pile of crates. She was in costume and her arms were crossed over her chest. "Seriously Nazism died out 65 years ago. Or did you miss the memo?"

Gritting his teeth and shaking he pointed at Lucy, "Destroy her." He shouted and more soldiers poured out of more octopus ships. They raced toward Lucy with their weapons aimed at her.

Snickering to herself, Lucy used her telekinesis and flew higher. Floating above the fight, she dodged the bullets. Using her hand, she focused on the soldiers she wanted to move. As she swept her hand, five soldiers fell into the water with a _splash_. The Mandroids focused on the other soldiers as more replaced the fallen ones.

Using her hand once more, Lucy cleared away more of the soldiers. However, no matter how many she cleared away more replenished. Suddenly, Lucy heard the _whoosh_ of air pass by her and saw yellow bolts of energy hit the Hydra soldiers.

"Nice to see you again, Jan. How long has it been, a few months since Paris Fashion Week?" Lucy said dodging the bullets as she sent a spark of mental energy at the nearest soldier. The mental energy sent him flying back into at least 10 other soldiers, skipping them across the water until they were too far away from the pier to swim back.

Jan shrugged as she zipped around, blasting the soldiers with her stingers. Lucy could see the confusion on the soldier's faces.

"Something like that. I didn't realize we ran in some of the same social circles. We should really reconnect sometime." The Wasp said as she blasted more of the soldiers. Before either could get another word in, two large giant lime robots appear on the pier. One hand a drill for a hand and the other spurted fire.

Swearing under her breath, Lucy sent more sparks of mental energy toward the Hydra soldiers. Even more were flown out into the water. At that moment, ants began crawling toward the soldiers. Crawling up their bodies Lucy grinned as she focused on the Dreadnoughts.

"Perfect timing Hank." Lucy said as she noticed a man wearing red spandex and a metal helmet riding an ant approach the two women. In her peripheral she also noticed the Mandroids starting to get an upper hand. Lucy once again swiped at the green and yellow clad soldiers.

"I wanted to know where Jan went after our meeting." He replied as more ants overwhelmed the present Hydra soldiers. The Mandroids took advantage of this and began to finish off the soldiers. Some of the Mandroids went for Strucker, who dodged their shots.

"I'll get back to you later on reconnecting." Lucy said leaving the two lovebirds to quarrel between each other. Moving toward Strucker, she decided to end this. Not only for the sake of efficiency but because Lucy wasn't sure how Strucker's Satan Claw worked against metal.

Reaching into Strucker's mind, she focused on the Nazi despite the chaos around them. Hydra soldiers were being zapped and overrun with ants left and right. Once she firmly had Strucker's mind under control, she sent a bolt of mental energy toward him. Unlike the previous mental energy she'd sent, this would merely send him to sleep instead of harm him. Lucy threw as much as she could toward Strucker and felt relieved when his eyes closed and fell onto the ground.

Lucy turned to Wasp and Ant-Man, "You two might want to skedaddle. It's about to get very busy here very fast." The pair nodded in unison before flying away, arguing all the while. Lucy crossed her arms and shook her head.

* * *

The S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier soon appeared to take the remaining Hydra soldiers and Baron Strucker into custody. Agent Maria Hill had been sent to supervise this time. Agent Hill met up with Lucy as S.H.I.E.L.D agents came to collect Baron Strucker and other fallen Hydra soldiers.

"You did good work today, Psyche. Are you sure you don't want to return to S.H.I.E.L.D?" Hill said, without preamble. That was part of what Lucy liked about the other woman. She was blunt and straight to the point. Although she would admit to herself that Hill could stand to get laid.

Lucy shook her head as she watched the pier become cordoned off, "Sorry, Hill I got out a long time ago and for a good reason. I'm a one woman army and I prefer to stay this way, at least for now. Did Fury send you to try to recruit me to his team of heroes again? I thought I told Agent Woo."

Hill's brow rose but she said nothing for some time. She moved her way away from the other agents and Lucy did the same. When she eventually did speak, it was softer this time.

"Fury's offer was very serious, Psyche. He, and everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D, thinks you would be a valuable asset to this team." Hill continued as Lucy moved her way past the yellow police tape.

She turned fully toward Hill and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I just can't. I'm pretty swamped down at Parker Incorporated, which is my number one priority. And while I do some moonlighting on the side, I don't really need anything extra to worry about right now. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late for a previous engagement. Good night, Agent Hill." And with that, Lucy turned away from Agent Hill and the crime scene without another word. She just hoped Adam wouldn't be too upset at her for being so late.

* * *

Lucy had her foot on the gas pedal the entire ride to Bravo's. It was 7:59 before she finally reached the restaurant and found Adam. He had reserved a table near the window.

Just like when we were dating. Lucy thought to herself as she neared his table. Tonight Adam was wearing a black three piece suit with a red long sleeve shirt underneath.

"Luce, is that you? You look like a million bucks." Adam said with a smile forming on his face. Getting up, he pulled out her chair for her and she sat.

It had taken some time for Lucy to decide what she wanted to wear. Eventually, she had decided on an amethyst dress with a sweetheart neckline. It was sleeveless, floor length, and had a slit up the right side ending at her hip, and paired with matching heels. For her hair Lucy had decided to curl it and place it in a ponytail on the right side of her head.

"Thanks, I was kind of having trouble deciding what to wear," Lucy said. She wasn't sure why she was being so honest with Adam. Maybe it was the rock hard thumping of her heart in her chest.

A rich and warm sound emanated from Adam's chest. His shoulders bounced as he laughed and a small part of Lucy admitted she missed that. She wished her heart didn't miss him as much as it did.

"You always did have trouble with that. But you look great, as I said earlier." He said, gesturing at her with his hand. A waitress approached and they ordered their drinks. Once the waitress left, Lucy decided to get right to the point.

"Alright, Adam, why did you want to see me tonight? We both know you could've called any time after we broke up, so what's so special about now?" Lucy asked, leaning closer. Searching his face, she could tell this wasn't what he wanted to talk about right out of the gate. Tough shit, he should've thought of that before calling her back after so many years.

Adam gave a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "I'll admit, Luce, I missed you. It's boring being at the top without someone to share it with, as you can imagine, and I just wanted to meet up with someone I knew from before. Is that so bad?" He got that puppy dog look in his eyes and Lucy almost felt bad for him.

Lucy's brow rose as their drinks arrived. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to voice her opinion. They quickly ordered their meals and when the waitress left them once more, she finally pounced.

"Really? Because I heard you were married, three times," Lucy said, and Adam gave another annoyed and childish sigh. He rolled his eyes with exaggeration and put his wine glass down. Leaning closer to her, he lowered his voice.

"Yeah, yeah you got me. But I didn't take to those other three. Not like you, Luce." He said, and this time she crossed her arms over her chest. Lucy could tell he was more than a little distracted by the way the dress hugged her boobs, but she still expected him to answer.

"Is that why you called? Because you wanted me back?" Lucy asked, trying not to raise her voice. She uncrossed her arms, but was only getting more annoyed with him.

Adam shook his head, "Let me just explain before you jump to conclusions. See, I think I understand why we broke up now. I know I'm racist against Mutants and it bothered you. But I can't change who I am, Luce. When I brought up my campaign slogan I didn't realize it would offend you, honest." His eyes peered into hers and Lucy knew what he was trying to do. She had seen him do it many times, especially when he wanted something. Well it wasn't going to work this time.

Lucy shook her head and turned to the waiter as he appeared with their meals, "Can I get a box for mine?" she then turned back to face Adam, "Let me be perfectly clear, I know how you feel toward Mutants. And to be honest, I know you can't and won't change which is why I'm sticking with the decision I made five years ago. If I ever see you again at my work, home, or anywhere else I will place a restraint against you. Good night, Adam."

And with that, the waiter came with a large plastic container. Lucy placed her meal into it, grabbed her purse, and _clacked_ away. Getting into her Porsche, she turned on the radio. Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name started blaring out. It felt fitting, considering the dinner she had come to. While she figured Adam may try to reach out to her again, she was prepared to stand by her threat. She let all of her tension and anger fly down the road as she drove home.


End file.
